We’re heading back to the Rutland Flower Show again this year, so ahead of that I thought I’d take a look back at our visit to the first Rutland Flower Show last year. Like this year the weather was very warm, and I’m hoping that this year there will be more shade as with it being a showground, there wasn’t much natural shade.
There were a mix of show gardens and plant stalls, but also there was a homeware section and what appealed to me more was the garden sculptures and vintage garden additions, so I’m hoping there’s a similar mix this year.
What I especially liked about this show garden, along with the obvious inspiration, was the detail on the information board which listed which plants had been used. Not just the plant names, but grouped by type so the trees were listed together, as were shrubs, perennials and the climber - this made it easy to identify which plant was which, which was great for those of us that don’t always know the plant names, and for those of us keen to learn.
GATES SHOW GARDEN
GATES SHOW GARDEN
Surprising myself I managed to not buy my all time favourites, and while our current multiple heatwave summer isn’t the ideal time to be buying plants, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to resist such beauties this year.
I might be better off buying succulents, which really wouldn’t be a hardship at all!
The ‘Turmeric Plants’ are on my wish list though, for the leaf shape as well as the vibrant pink.
And a rusty allium, yes please - this would be great to add interest into a winter border wouldn’t it?
Last year when I saw these I’d recently bought myself some new herb labels, I haven’t yet leapt back into seed sowing, but I’d be very tempted by these this year in readiness - I do like to be prepared.
STAMFORD LANDSCAPES SHOW GARDEN
STAMFORD LANDSCAPES SHOW GARDEN
We had an enjoyable chat with the people on the Stamford Landscapes stall and I liked the feel of their show garden - it always amazes me how show gardens come together so quickly, and can look so established, that’s a real skill.
GARDEN ELEMENTS SHOW GARDEN
I really need to add chives like this to my plant list don’t I?
THE GATHERER FLORIST DISPLAY
As well as the Show Gardens there were also smaller borders to admire and also take inspiration from. I’ve included a couple of my favourite shots here.
THE GRANGE DISPLAY
So after looking back at my photos from last year, I’m ready for this year’s show so watch out for some more photos from there soon.